If National wins ...

[fungus pudding]

It might if these results keep coming in.

http://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/nation...59FU&ocid=iehp

What on earth has the referendum got to do with who will lead the National party?

[Major von Tempsky]

I am going to vote for keeping the existing flag which will remain because it is backed by an unlikely coalition of left wing plus right wing.

I am also going to vote for keeping John Key if the issue ever arose and for continuing John Key as PM the next election and the one after.

And Winston Peters is on record that he would back National over Labour if it was a hung election.

Saudi sheep deal? Who cares? It's hardly a topic of conversation in middle NZ!

[fungus pudding]

I am going to vote for keeping the existing flag which will remain because it is backed by an unlikely coalition of left wing plus right wing.

And I'll vote for the new one as I see a huge benefit in distinguishing ourselves from those fellas over the ditch. So if you promise me you won't vote, I might do the same and we'll cancel each other out.

[Daytr]

It should be obvious . Key will be responsible for the squandering of $30M of taxpayer money. Abject failure by the leader of the National Party.

At least the Nats give John Oliver plenty of material .

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainm...ref=NZH_FBpage

What on earth has the referendum got to do with who will lead the National party?

[Daytr]

Really? I never would have guessed ...

And I'll vote for the new one as I see a huge benefit in distinguishing ourselves from those fellas over the ditch. So if you promise me you won't vote, I might do the same and we'll cancel each other out.

[Sgt Pepper]

I am going to vote for keeping the existing flag which will remain because it is backed by an unlikely coalition of left wing plus right wing.

I am also going to vote for keeping John Key if the issue ever arose and for continuing John Key as PM the next election and the one after.

And Winston Peters is on record that he would back National over Labour if it was a hung election.

Saudi sheep deal? Who cares? It's hardly a topic of conversation in middle NZ!

Sorry to rain on your parade Major, maybe you don't care about millions of dollars of tax payers being potentially misdirected (or worse) but the Auditor General does. Of course if it had happened under a Labour Administration then my guess would be that you would have been interested

[iceman]

I do agree with daytr and Sgt Pepper that the cost of the flag vote seems to be ridiculous. It should have been held alongside either local or parliamentary elections to reduce costs. But those screaming loudest now did not see anything wrong with $10m spent on "stop the asset sales" PROTEST, even though everyone knew it would make no difference to the partial privatisation process. At least the flag referendum will give Kiwis a voice.

This morning I read in the Herald that Kiwis are not welcome at backpacker hostels in Blenheim because of their rowdy and uneducated behaviour. Even though this is a big generalisation, I am not surprised that the Asian and European travelers, many staying long term and working in orchards, do not appreciate that behaviour.
One of the hostel owners (a Kiwi) saying the foreigners are more interested in doing a hard days work than Kiwis.

Then on radio yesterday we hear about 300 people being "imported" into Hawkes Bay for working in orchards and another 600 jobs coming up, most likely to be filled with foreign seasonal workers. Meanwhile we have 6.5% unemployment in Hawkes Bay.
What is happening to our youth and their work ethic ? Have they had it so easy for too long with all the benefits and free student loans that they can't be bothered working anymore ??

[craic]

Overseas backpackers are individuals who have invested a great deal in travelling across the world, in many cases to expand their knowledge and experience, before settling down into careers, probably in their own country. NZ backpackers will have a high percentage of waifs and strays and displaced locals and, ipso facto, a much higher percentage of problems.

[elZorro]

I do agree with daytr and Sgt Pepper that the cost of the flag vote seems to be ridiculous. It should have been held alongside either local or parliamentary elections to reduce costs. But those screaming loudest now did not see anything wrong with $10m spent on "stop the asset sales" PROTEST, even though everyone knew it would make no difference to the partial privatisation process. At least the flag referendum will give Kiwis a voice.

This morning I read in the Herald that Kiwis are not welcome at backpacker hostels in Blenheim because of their rowdy and uneducated behaviour. Even though this is a big generalisation, I am not surprised that the Asian and European travelers, many staying long term and working in orchards, do not appreciate that behaviour.
One of the hostel owners (a Kiwi) saying the foreigners are more interested in doing a hard days work than Kiwis.

Then on radio yesterday we hear about 300 people being "imported" into Hawkes Bay for working in orchards and another 600 jobs coming up, most likely to be filled with foreign seasonal workers. Meanwhile we have 6.5% unemployment in Hawkes Bay.
What is happening to our youth and their work ethic ? Have they had it so easy for too long with all the benefits and free student loans that they can't be bothered working anymore ??

Are you trying to say that historic Labour policy has wrecked the work ethic of our youth? Maybe their parents have protected them too much from life's brutal realities. First we have to consider what a young single person's unemployment benefit is, and that won't allow them to be very mobile. They probably couldn't run a car on it, to get themselves to work in a rural area. The 'free student loans' you talk about are possibly a disincentive to doing hard, low paid, semi-skilled graft in an orchard, because they've just been trained in some higher skills, and orchard work isn't going to look great on their CVs. Of course they have to start paying interest and the loans back, as soon as they start work. So I guess those loans aren't really "free" after all.

[Daytr]

Iceman there are big differences between the current referendum than the first. Mainly, nearly 400k signatures were collected to petition for a referendum. So if you want to blame around 20% of the voting public for squandering $9M, so be it, however I would suggest that's democracy in action. However the latest referendum has been forced on us by one man, John Key.

Re the backpackers, having been one in the UK we used to think the Poms were lazy. But it has to be put into context. We were there for a short time, working hard & playing hard, knowing we weren't dog it for the rest of our lives. So its quite a different ethic. In NZ its hard to compete with the Island labor as their physical attributes are superior to the average Kiwi for certain work. You only have to look at the ABs for that. You are Also comparing some people in NZ who are toward the bottom of the socio-economic spectrum of NZ versus people who are being paid far more here than they would in their own country. So the comparison is never going to be fair.

I do agree with daytr and Sgt Pepper that the cost of the flag vote seems to be ridiculous. It should have been held alongside either local or parliamentary elections to reduce costs. But those screaming loudest now did not see anything wrong with $10m spent on "stop the asset sales" PROTEST, even though everyone knew it would make no difference to the partial privatisation process. At least the flag referendum will give Kiwis a voice.

This morning I read in the Herald that Kiwis are not welcome at backpacker hostels in Blenheim because of their rowdy and uneducated behaviour. Even though this is a big generalisation, I am not surprised that the Asian and European travelers, many staying long term and working in orchards, do not appreciate that behaviour.
One of the hostel owners (a Kiwi) saying the foreigners are more interested in doing a hard days work than Kiwis.

Then on radio yesterday we hear about 300 people being "imported" into Hawkes Bay for working in orchards and another 600 jobs coming up, most likely to be filled with foreign seasonal workers. Meanwhile we have 6.5% unemployment in Hawkes Bay.
What is happening to our youth and their work ethic ? Have they had it so easy for too long with all the benefits and free student loans that they can't be bothered working anymore ??